MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : DETAILED & COMPLET E NEWS SAMPLER / INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS ON QASSEM SOLEIMANI’S FAREWELL

Iran vows ‘retaliation’ after US kills top general in Iraq — live updates – 3Jan 2020

The US Department of State has urged Americans in Iraq to leave “immediately” after Tehran vowed to “retaliate” over a US airstrike in Baghdad that targeted the leader of Iran’s elite Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani.

All updates in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)

09:38 The threats from Iran should be taken “deadly seriously,” said senior lawmaker for the Germany’s Green Party, Omid Nouripour. He called for immediate evacuation of German soldiers currently stationed in Iraq.

“When not even the US embassy can be protected, it shows that members of Bundeswehr must also be evacuated,” said the opposition lawmaker.

09:14 Even before the killing of Soleimani, Iran and Israel were engaged in tense and dangerous struggle. Read more on their conflict here.

09:05 Israel’s military has gone on heightened alert for fear of retaliatory strikes, according to Israel Army Radio. An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Netanyahu would cut short his visit to Greece due to the killing of Soleimani.

08:56 Iran’s senior lawmaker Mojtaba Zolnouri threatened US troops on Iranian television.

“When the US is killing Iranian forces outside of Iran, the U.S. must see its troops killed at its bases in the region,” said the hardline cleric, the head of Iran’s parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy.

Watch video01:33

Top Iranian general killed in US airstrike on Baghdad

08:44 Hezbollah militia leader Hassan Nasrallah also pledged revenge against the US for the death of his Iranian allies.

“Meting out the appropriate punishment to these criminal assassins… will be the responsibility and task of all resistance fighters worldwide,” Nasrallah said in a statement.

08:40 Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said the US strike was “an act of state terrorism.”
“Perhaps America’s action was a response to the pain that this great man had inflicted on them,” Zarif said of Soleimani.

08:30 Want to know more about General Qassem Soleimani? DW presents a profile on the powerful military leader.

08:24 France’s priority is to stabilize the Middle East, says French Junior Foreign Affairs Minister Amelie de Montchalin.

“We have woken up to a more dangerous world,” she told RTL radio.

08:22 The US strike “blew up” any remaining hope of solving the nuclear program issue with Iran, said Russia senior foreign policy lawmaker Konstantin Kosachev.

“Iran may now prioritize making nuclear weapons, even if they were not about to do it before,” Kosachev wrote on his Facebook page.

08:17 European shares slip in the wake of the US strike on Soleimani as oil price soar.

08:14 After Iran declared three days of mourning over the death of Soleimani, the French embassy in Tehran urged French nationals to stay away from any gatherings and to behave with prudence and discretion and abstain from taking pictures in public spaces.”

08:12 Moscow warned that airstrike on Soleimani was “adventurist step that will increase tensions” in the Middle East.

“Soleimani served the cause of protecting Iran’s national interests with devotion,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. “We express our sincere condolences to the Iranian people.”

08:10 US embassy in Iraq urges citizens to “depart Iraq immediately” for fear of retribution over the killing of Soleimani.

08:05 US airstrike near Baghdad airport is an act of aggression that will “spark a devastating war” in Iraq, the region, and the world, said Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.

07:59 Fighters of Iraq’s pro-Iranian militia Asaib Ahl al-Haq were placed on “high alert for upcoming battle.”

“The price for the blood for the martyred commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis is the complete end to American military presence in Iraq,” militia commander Qais al-Khazali told a local TV channel. “The price for for the blood of martyr Qassem Soleimani is the elimination of all of Israel from existence.”

Watch video01:41

Protesters disperse outside US embassy in Baghdad

07:55 US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has slammed the strike against Soleimani as “provocative and disproportionate.”

“America — and the world — cannot afford to have tensions escalate to the point of no return,” said the Democratic lawmaker.

07:53 The Syrian government has slammed the “cowardly US aggression,” accusing Washington of trying to fuel conflict with the Baghdad airstrike.

07:47 Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says Soleimani would be avenged.

“The joy of the zionists and Americans in no time turn to mourning,” spokesman Ramezan Sharif told Iranian state television.

07:38 China urges “the relevant sides, especially the United States” to remain calm and avoid escalating tensions, a Chinese military spokesman told reporters.

07:29 One of Iraq’s most powerful Shiite clerics said his forces are prepared to defend Iraq.

“As the patron of the patriotic Iraqi resistance I give the order for all mujahideen, especially the Mahdi Army, Promised Day Brigade and all patriotic and disciplined groups to be ready to protect Iraq,” said Muqtada al-Sadr.

Al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army was considered the most vicious militant group to wage an insurgency against US troops in the wake of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Al-Sadr was the face of the Iraqi insurgency against US troops in the wake of the 2003 invasion

07:21 In the US, law enforcement agencies are on alert. “While there is no credible threat to Los Angeles, the LAPD is monitoring the event developing in Iran.”

07:05 To catch you up to speed, here’s a brief rundown of today’s events and how we got here. US President Donald Trump ordered the killing of Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani and Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) deputy leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, according to the Pentagon. A US strike was carried out overnight near Baghdad International Airport.

The attack came after Iran-backed PMU supporters stormed the US embassy in Baghdad in protest of a US airstrike that killed PMU militiamen. The US had defended their actions, saying it was in retaliation for PMU elements launching rockets at US troops in Erbil.

06:48 Iranian officials announced “an extraordinary meeting of the Supreme National Security Council.” The plan is to “review the murderous attack on the vehicle of General Soleimani in Baghdad that lead to his martyrdom.”

06:44 Social media users appear worried. “World War 3” was trending on Twitter with more than one million tweets.

06:31 To provide some context on the crowds of cheering Iraqis in Baghdad and elsewhere, the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces were seen as instrumental in quelling anti-government protests since October. Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in the airstrike, was reportedly behind orders to quash the protests.

Here’s the take from Hassan Hassan, a veteran Middle East analyst and author of ISIS: The Army of Terror:

“If the killing of Iran’s top operatives in Iraq happened outside the context of protests, it’d have been different. But it came amid a wide sense of helplessness, anger and frustration with pro-Iran militias (PMUs) and their role against the popular protests.”

06:11 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted a video that he said showed: “Iraqis — Iraqis — dancing in the street for freedom; thankful that General Soleimani is no more.”

06:07 Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that the US should expect “hard retaliation,” describing the attack’s perpetrators as “criminals who bloodied their foul hands with his blood.”

“Martyrdom was the reward for his ceaseless efforts in all these years,” said Khamenei.

06:00 Welcome to the DW News’ live blog covering the latest in the ongoing escalation between the US and Iran.

Earlier on Friday, US forces carried out a targeted airstrike killing Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces(PMF).

For officials and observers, the attack represented a dangerous escalation that threatens to destabilize the region. It comes on the heels of tit-for-tat attacks between PMF elements and the US that triggered protests in Baghdad and the eventual storming of the US embassy.

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